Saudi Arabian adult intensive care unit pressure ulcer incidence and risk factors: a prospective cohort study

The purpose of this study was to identify pressure ulcer (PU) incidence and risk factors that are associated with PU development in patients in two adult intensive care units (ICU) in Saudi Arabia. A prospective cohort study design was used. A total of 84 participants were screened second daily basis until discharge or death, over a consecutive 30‐day period, out of which 33 participants with new PUs were identified giving a cumulative hospital‐acquired PU incidence of 39·3% (33/84 participants). The incidence of medical devices‐related PUs was 8·3% (7/84). Age, length of stay in the ICU, history of cardiovascular disease and kidney disease, infrequent repositioning, time of operation, emergency admission, mechanical ventilation and lower Braden Scale scores independently predicted the development of a PU. According to binary logistic regression analyses, age, longer stay in ICU and infrequent repositioning were significant predictors of all stages of PUs, while the length of stay in the ICU and infrequent repositioning were associated with the development of stages II–IV PUs. In conclusion, PU incidence rate was higher than that reported in other international studies. This indicates that urgent attention is required for PU prevention strategies in this setting.